A Novel Energy Supply Strategy for Stable Sensor Data Delivery in Wireless Sensor Networks

Recently, extensive studies have been performed on simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) and energy harvesting (EH) from both radio frequency (RF) and ambient energy sources. The application of these technologies in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) reduces the dependence on battery energy. However, there are few studies on the energy supply strategy for a whole WSN system. In this article, using a tree-based WSN, we propose a novel energy supply strategy for a whole system by combining SWIPT and EH from both RF and ambient energy sources. To this end, the sensing data transmission schedules for all sensor nodes are derived and then, the frame structure and operation are analyzed in real time. Our extensive simulation results prove that the implementation of the novel energy supply system in WSNs can provide stable data delivery and guarantee a perpetual energy supply for WSNs if the parameters are carefully designed based on our proposed principles.